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We Asked Our Latino Rebels Community About Fidel Castro’s Death and Here Is What They Told Us

There are certain historical events that will always generate intense feelings no matter and the death of Fidel Castro is no different. We asked our community about Castro’s death and what it meant to them. Here is just a sample of what they told us.

Fidel Castro, 1959, Washington D.C. (Wikimedia Commons)

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Melissa Bidot Farewell to one of the giants and brilliant visionaries of the last century. Like all revolutionaries and politicians, he had his supporters and detractors but you can’t change his role in history, his influence in world politics and Caribbean resistance. Rest In Power, Compañero Fidel Castro

“If surviving assassination attempts were an Olympic event, I would win the gold medal.” -Fidel 🇨🇺

Joel Sanchez His legacy is complex, but his death is a reminder that he once stood for a system that is the polar opposite of what we have now in the “president elect.” That deserves notice in itself.

Camarada El Guerrero Fidel Castro was the symbol of strength and resistance all around the world. It was him and Che that inspired me to read about Marxism and become one. Gracias Comandante Fidel Castro. Hasta la Victoria siempre! #RedSalute 🔴

Radames Suarez Fidel Castro was a megalomaniac who wrapped himself in a mantle of false humanism in order to justify a reign of terror that destroyed a once prosperous country. He ran Cuba like a Mafia Don giving confiscated mansions, stolen art and vast terrains of land to his cronies.He has the distinction of being the first dictator to create concentration camps for gays. He persecuted intellectuals so ferociously that Cuba’s greatest writers had to escape, others were assassinated. Under his reign-of-terror Cuba went from being a country that welcomed European immigrants that were clamoring to become Cuban citizens to being a country where Cubans have escaped by the millions. May he burn in Hell for all eternity.

Jon Tanski It’s difficult to answer that. Prior to Castro’s revolution Cuba was known as “the whore of the Caribbean ” The island nation was run by the despot Bautista and was mired in corruption where the Mafia was free to operate freely. It was a world where the rich profited and the poor suffered. Fidel Castro changed all that.

Benjamin Foster Mixed feelings I am glad he is gone but I hope Cuba becomes like Canada where it’s a Democratically Socialist country and doesn’t end up like Russia where all the advances of the former Soviet Union collapse. (Of course the USSR had some awful cons but they also had some pros as well)

Isidro Navarro By the 1950s Cuba was as rich per capita as Italy and richer than Japan. You see Cuba now and no further comments are required. Castro es un símbolo a la mediocridad humana. A cambio de que nos garanticen pan y agua somos capaces de vivir y morir como borregos.

Gerardo Dominguez I like how he stood up too not be like the rest of the world aka USA. He made sure ppl didn’t starve but at the same time he went ham on ppl who didn’t like he’s ruling.

What I learned from him u can feed ppl give good education and let every one have a chance to be able to eat and get schooled

Jorge Juan Arroyo I have a mixed perspective. I admire him as an intellectual human being but not much as a political leader. Just my opinion without going too deep into details because it’s too complicated for a Facebook post. Scrutinizing facts and history helps to achieve personal conclusions.

Arturo Perez The passing of a bad ass leader,not my leader but bad ass man. He had to die so the men in Cuba could say what their saying now in celebration in the streets, he was just like them when he was young and decided to make his revelution and take over, balls that have not been seen since.

Brittney Nicole Fidel dedicated his life to murdering and oppressing his own people for a failed ideology. He unleashed terror, pain and suffering on his own people. Good riddance.

Arianna Frs Definitely mixed feelings. The idea that all humans should be equal seems like where we all want to be. However, those who stayed in Cuba were equally poor. This is also the current case in Venezuela. They shared similar policies.

Om Ulloa Sixty years of Mierda Mojón y Porquería, all the False promises of a DICTATOR gone nowhere.

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@latinorebels Hopefully it will mean freedom for the Cubans and a better leader will arise (not Castro's brother) and make it a democracy

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sabokitty He departed in peace and victory over empire, but his voice, his presence, his shining star is one that the workd needs to keep hope as we tilt ever more toward a despairing 2017

rdrgz527 I have no shame in celebrating what that bastard caused my mother’s family. I understand that people will think of me as a horrible person but what he put my mother and her mother through has no forgiveness. I now truly believe Cuba will become the nation that the great Jose Marti wanted and died for.

chickflick_bp Who cares?!? He was a miserable bastard that enslaved a nation and destroyed millions of families. Along with Che Guevara, a ruthless bloody thirty murderer killed thousands. The only reason his revolution has lasted this long was because he was alive. Now it’s over! Raul will pass it along and the island nation will be free and great again!! God bless!!

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From Heikki Ekman

Fidel Castro was inspiring figure who brought dignity back to Cuba that was exploited by the Platt Amendment. Before Castro, Cuba was basically a colony of the US where the pro-US dictators, mafia and different kinds of self-seekers ruled and upheld unequal system. It’s also heartening to see how Cuba could fight the outer pressure from the US, CIA or such terrorist organizations as Alpha 66 or Omega 7. Castro’s regime has also been an example to Latin America in good and bad, from violent guerillas (without forgetting their opponents, violent, extreme right-wing paramilitary) to more equal health care and education.

Castro’s regime definitely has had its faults. There’s been no tolerance towards dissidence (apparently because of the fear of counterrevolution, not always without a reason though) and during the first Cold War, even though more independent, it was still quite dependent on the Soviet Union (that tended to treat Cuba as its warehouse of nuclear weapons and the pawn against the US. But I would consider Cuba a great model not only to Latin America but to other countries as well. Finland, my home country, that is now considered as a developed country (only for some decades as Finland used to be under developed due to unequal system and several wars) is exploited by multinational companies, in Lapland. The right-wing government seeks to get rid of the social democratic welfare model and wants to place Finland to the West. As many Finns have traumas about the so-called “finlandization”, diplomatic stance towards the USSR (which included domestic politics that were not always 100 % democratic…), they haven’t stood against these policies that our governments have implemented (apart from few strikes and protests). Plus it’s always easier to blame refugees, immigrants and the “green-left”. Our decision makers would like to see Finland in NATO, that would help to destabilize the Baltic Sea front (while I’m not a fan of aggressive Russia neither) and worsen the situation in the North as well. Hopefully people in Finland will rise (by peaceful means) before it’s too late. I’d like to see a real nonaligned movement that would consist of organizations and countries around the world. Those that wouldn’t bow down for the West nor East.

Back to Cuba. After the 1st Cold War, Cuba has acted rather independently. I wish that Cuba will uphold independent politics in the future as well. Hope there won’t be new epoch of Platt Amendment. Following years will tell if the system was built on sustainable ground. While Castro was a great leader, sustainable political system can’t be dependent on one person or one political party. All the people must be committed, mere forcing won’t work in the long haul. Time will tell if Fidel Castro really started something new and sustainable. Hopefully at least the Cubans won’t sell their country for the big international corporations nor surrender for the pressure that comes from any cardinal direction.

If you want to share your thoughts, post them below or tweet them to us @latinorebels.